Two Months, Cultivators of the Li Household

Time passed unnoticed during cultivation.

In the blink of an eye, two months had gone by.

It was September 11, exactly two months since Li Yunjing had entered seclusion to attempt Foundation Establishment.

Inside Luozhen Hall of the Luozhen Sect in Serene Valley,

Mo Xuan and Shui Yao were talking.

"Alas, senior brother has been in seclusion for two months. I wonder whether he can succeed in reaching Foundation Establishment."

Mo Xuan's voice was full of worry.

Shui Yao took Mo Xuan's hand, interlacing her fingers with his.

"Don't worry. Senior brother will succeed."

Mo Xuan nodded gently.

Just then, Zhang Hanpeng's anxious voice drifted into Luozhen Hall.

"Grand elder, grand elder, something's wrong! Someone has barged into the Luozhen Sect without permission!"

Mo Xuan and Shui Yao's expressions changed at once.

The two walked out of Luozhen Hall together.

Zhang Hanpeng was hurrying toward them.

When he reached them,

Zhang Hanpeng took a few breaths and steadied his breathing.

"Grand elder, a group of cultivators claiming to be from the Li Household has barged into Serene Valley. We simply couldn't stop them!"

Mo Xuan quickly searched his memories for what he knew about the Li Household.

"If I remember correctly, the Li Household is a Foundation Establishment Lineage south of Xunxian Town," Mo Xuan said.

Shui Yao nodded. "That's right."

"Come, follow me. Let's go take a look." Mo Xuan immediately took Shui Yao by the hand and headed for the entrance to Serene Valley.

The two had not spent the past two months without gains.

The many buildings had effects that increased their cultivation speed.

Coupled with the fine-grade Yellow Sprout Pills Li Yunjing had given them,

the two had successfully made breakthroughs in their cultivation over those two months.

Both had advanced from Late Qi Refining to Qi Refining Completion.

Their strength had improved greatly.

Working together, as long as they didn't encounter anyone at Foundation Establishment,

the two were confident they could handle opponents at the same cultivation level.

Riding the breeze, the group soon reached the entrance to Serene Valley.

There, four disciples led by Lü Hong were blocking the Li Household cultivators.

Lü Hong had originally been at Early Qi Refining,

where he had languished for years.

After coming to the Luozhen Sect, his long accumulation had borne fruit, and he had entered Mid-Stage Qi Refining a month ago.

Now Lü Hong had instead become the disciple with the highest cultivation among the five.

The Hu family sister and brother had good talent.

After tempering their Law Power for a while longer, they too could enter Mid-Stage Qi Refining.

As for Zhang Hanpeng and Ge Shuyuan, they needed more time.

Zhang Hanpeng in particular.

Though both had first-grade Root Bones, Zhang Hanpeng's talent was not even as good as Ge Shuyuan's.

During the test, the pillar of light on the Root Bone ruler had barely exceeded first grade.

Ge Shuyuan's had at least been close to second grade.

"May I ask which of you is the leader of the Luozhen Sect?"

At that moment, a square-faced cultivator among the Li Household cultivators stepped forward.

He cupped his hands toward the newly arrived Mo Xuan and Shui Yao as he asked.

"If you want to know who we are, shouldn't you at least give us your names first?"

Mo Xuan regarded them coldly.

This was a critical moment in Li Yunjing's breakthrough.

No one could be allowed to disturb him.

These people wanted to barge into Serene Valley,

but Mo Xuan would never allow it.

As he spoke, Mo Xuan also quietly observed them.

Five Li Household cultivators had come.

Two were at Qi Refining Completion, while the other three were at Late Qi Refining.

If a fight broke out, he and Xiao Yao could only deal with the two at Qi Refining Completion quickly,

then help the five disciples deal with the remaining three at Late Qi Refining.

Alternatively, he could hold off the two at Qi Refining Completion,

letting the five disciples work with Xiao Yao to deal with the three at Late Qi Refining first,

before turning to the two at Qi Refining Completion.

As he pondered, Mo Xuan sent a Divine Sense message to Shui Yao,

telling her to prepare for a battle of spells.

The square-faced cultivator chuckled cheerfully.

"Fellow Daoist, there's no need to be hostile toward us. My name is Li Qiuchen, the current head of the Li Household. These people are all elders of my Li Household.

"We've come to Serene Valley this time to inspect it."

"Inspect Serene Valley? Serene Valley is the Luozhen Sect's territory. What business is it of your Li Household?"

Shui Yao immediately shot back.

Li Qiuchen was still smiling.

"That is indeed the case now, but in four days, it won't be.

"If I'm not mistaken, the Luozhen Sect still has no Foundation Establishment cultivator holding down the fort. Once the Immortal Alliance's deacon arrives in four days, the Luozhen Sect will be driven out of Serene Valley.

"The Li Household has already discussed it with the Immortal Alliance. Once the Luozhen Sect moves out, the Li Household will take over Serene Valley.

"From then on, Serene Valley will be under the Li Household's control."

Mo Xuan and Shui Yao clenched their fists at his words.

The time hadn't even come yet!

The Li Household was already acting so arrogantly. It was truly infuriating.

Li Qiuchen continued,

"Fellow Daoists, my Li Household values harmony and has no wish to come into conflict with the Luozhen Sect.

"If you two are willing to agree to my request, I can promise you that in four days, after the Immortal Alliance revokes the Luozhen Sect's qualification,

"my Li Household will take responsibility for providing a way out for everyone in the Luozhen Sect.

"You may join my Li Household and become Attendants.

"If you are unwilling, my Li Household can also arrange for you to leave safely. We certainly won't stop you."

Mo Xuan sighed inwardly.

Li Qiuchen's words really did combine soft and hard tactics.

They seemed to take the Luozhen Sect's interests into consideration, but they also contained a veiled threat.

When the time came, the safety of everyone in the Luozhen Sect would be in the Li Household's hands.

The Li Household could keep everyone in the Luozhen Sect safe, or it could put them all in danger.

Though Mo Xuan did not know where the Li Household's confidence came from,

Li Qiuchen had to have some means at his disposal to dare say such a thing.

After discussing it with Shui Yao through Divine Sense,

Mo Xuan and Shui Yao decided to let the group in.

"You may enter Serene Valley, but you can only move around near the valley entrance. You cannot go deeper. That is our bottom line," Mo Xuan said.

Li Qiuchen smiled and nodded. "Of course."

Mo Xuan gestured for the five disciples to make way.

Li Qiuchen led the four Li Household members into Serene Valley.

Mo Xuan and Shui Yao took positions at the front and rear, guarding them respectively.

After entering Serene Valley, Li Qiuchen and the others stopped.

Li Qiuchen then called on the Li Household elders to begin their work.

The Li Household elders took out shovels.

They looked much like Luoyang shovels.

The four elders spread out in a line,

using their shovels to bore into the ground and bring up soil from deeper below.

Mo Xuan watched from the side.

He saw a Li Household elder use a shovel to dig a hole about three zhang deep.

The soil he brought up was very moist and shimmered with wisps of spiritual power.

The Li Household elder pinched up a little soil and put it in his mouth.

He tasted it carefully, then walked over to Li Qiuchen.

"Household head, the soil here is good. Its spiritual power content is decent, making it very suitable for cultivation."

The elder had not lowered his voice.

Mo Xuan and the others from the Luozhen Sect heard him.

They all gritted their teeth and clenched their fists.

From the sound of it, the Li Household intended to use Serene Valley as farmland.

Li Qiuchen smiled and nodded. "Mm, continue."

The elder carried his shovel forward about twenty paces.

He wanted to go farther, but Mo Xuan called out, "Stop."

The elder stopped and turned to look at Li Qiuchen.

Only after Li Qiuchen nodded did the elder truly stop.

He continued shoveling soil where he stood.

The other three elders also came to report their findings.

Without exception, every elder found that the soil had a good amount of spiritual power.

Not long afterward, the first elder came to report another discovery.

He mentioned that the soil there contained more spiritual power.

Thus, the elder suspected that the deeper one went into Serene Valley, the richer the soil's spiritual power content would be.

The elder wanted to go deeper into Serene Valley.

But Li Qiuchen was a man of his word.

Since he had promised not to go deeper, he would keep that promise.

After a while, the other three elders made the same discovery.

After measuring the soil, the elders took out other tools.

Altogether, they spent half a shichen on the work.

Only then did they finish their survey.

The results left Li Qiuchen very satisfied.

The smile never left his face.

Walking up to Mo Xuan, Li Qiuchen said,

"Fellow Daoist, I'll keep my promise. In four days, on September 15, the Li Household will help you leave safely."